Disabled Access Appeals Board Meeting

MINUTES DISABLED ACCESS APPEALS BOARD MEETING Tuesday, March 29, 2016 10:00 AM CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER - CITY HALL, MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Board members Present: Hawkins, Stocker, Villalpando, Castaneda, Stevens Absent: None Board Staff Chief of Inspection Services/Building Official John Kuehl, Traffic Engineer Present: Rich Deal, Recording Secretary Jenny Leinen CALL TO ORDER Chair Stocker called the meeting to order at 10:07 am. CONSENT ITEMS Approval of Minutes 1. October 29, 2015 Action: Approved as submitted. PUBLIC COMMENTS None. PUBLIC HEARING 2. Presentation and Update on Cal Trans ADA audit Staff Presentation John Kuehl, Chief of Inspection Services/Building Official gave a presentation and an update on the Cal Trans ADA audit as well as answered Board Members’ questions. Board Discussion Chair Stocker said the audit seems to have been extensive. Mr. Kuehl agreed and said he was pleased with the results. Mr. Kuehl said he has received many calls from people all over the country asking how the City was able to be so successful with the ADA Transition Plan. Chair stocker thanked Mr. Kuehl for his work. Board Member Villalpando asked if there are still plans to do the table top audit. Mr. Kuehl said there are no plans to do the table top audit at this time because Cal Trans spent three days reviewing here, while they were in the City. Board Member Villalpando asked if the positive audit would improve the ISO rating. Mr. Kuehl said the review just occurred so it is too soon to tell.  Disabled Access Appeals Board Minutes Tuesday, March 29, 2016 3. Consider 406 Alvarado Street (Applicant: Paul Davis Partnership) Appeal of Building Official’s Decision to Deny Request to Install a Disabled Access Parking Space at an Alternate Location Because of an Unreasonable Hardship ACTION: The Disabled Access Appeals Board grants the unreasonable hardship appeal and overturns the decision of the Building Official to deny the request to install a disabled access parking space at an alternate location because of an unreasonable hardship and finds that the alternate disabled access parking location on Calle Principal is equivalent and acceptable. Staff Presentation Mr. Kuehl presented the Agenda Report and answered Board Members’ questions. Appellant: Paul Davis, project architect, said the project was originally approved to have valet parking with tandem parking and was never intended for public parking. Mr. Davis said there would be challenges with lowering the slab in the garage about a foot due to the water table. He said one alternative proposed is for hotel guests to park at other parking garages within the area or come up with a parking agreement with the Marriot. Mr. Davis said the hotel address will be changed to the Calle Principal side of the building and the Alvarado Street door will no longer be the main entrance to the hotel. Mr. Davis said developing a loading zone in the proposed new front door area is the best option. He also said the proposed loading zone would be accessible to all guests and will have up to three spaces for loading. Board Member Castaneda asked about the height of the space in the basement. Mr. Davis said the height varies from four inches to almost twelve inches below the required height and is substandard. Board Member Villalpando asked if there is an arm or any type of security gate to keep the public out of the garage. Mr. Davis said there will be signage and there is a rolling gate the hotel can operate if needed. Mr. Davis said the three loading/unloading spaces in the front of the building will not have disabled access signage or a reserved parking space; it will be a place to unload with a path to an accessible route of travel. Board Member Stevens asked if there are three spaces proposed for the loading zone. Mr. Davis said there will at least be one for what they are proposing, but said the number will have to be worked out with engineering. Public Comments None. Board Member Discussion: Board member Castaneda asked Mr. Kuehl if the basement level parking will still have disabled parking accommodations. Mr. Kuehl said there will be an ADA parking space as it is required in a parking garage or lot. Board Member Hawkins asked if special provisions are needed to ensure a person in a wheelchair exiting from either side of the vehicle in the loading zone can access the sidewalk. Mr. Kuehl said the architect is required to have a path of travel from both the passenger and driver sides of the vehicle. Board Member Castaneda said if there is a safety issue the valet could assist with unloading from the driver side. 2  Disabled Access Appeals Board Minutes Tuesday, March 29, 2016 Board Member Stevens said he is comfortable with the solution as long as there is path of travel to the sidewalk. Board Member Villalpando said the problem is the van ceiling height but as long as there is valet parking then this becomes a nonissue. Chair Stocker said findings must be made that there is a hardship for items 1, 2, 3 on the staff report and to approve the alternate disabled access parking location. On a motion made by Board member Castaneda, seconded by Board member Stevens, and carried by the following vote, the Disabled Access Appeals Board grants the appeal of the Paul Davis Partnership and overturns the decision by the Building Official to deny the request to install a disabled access parking space at an alternative location due to unreasonable hardship with the findings that the alternate disabled access parking location on Calle Principal is equivalent and acceptable. AYES: 5 COMMISSIONERS: Stocker, Castaneda, Villalpando, Hawkins, Stevens NOES: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSTAIN: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None RECUSED: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None 4. Consider Appeal of ADA Coordinator’s Decision Regarding Request for Accommodation or Barrier Removal on the Recreation Trail - J.D. Wachs; Appellant ACTION: The Disabled Access Appeals Board denies the appeal of J.D. Wachs and upholds the decision of the ADA Coordinator to deny the request for accommodations or barrier removal on the Recreation Trail. Staff Presentation: Mr. Kuehl presented the Agenda Report and answered Board Members’ questions. Rich Deal, Traffic Engineer, gave the definition of a “class one shared use path” and said it is specifically not included in the ADA guidelines because it is not considered a sidewalk so it does not have any requirements like sidewalks do. He said there are many wheeled riders, such as wagons and Segways that do not fit into the current ADA standard. Assistant City Attorney Karin Salameh said the federal Access Board has engaged in a rule making process but they have not yet issued a final rule with regards to adopting ADA guidelines for shared use paths. Appellant: Jason Wachs, applicant, presented a series of photos of the recreation trail to the Board. Mr. Wachs said the recreation trail is not accessible due to the amount of use and the diversity of use. Mr. Wachs stated pedestrians and wheeled vehicles share the same route on the recreation trail, but he believes the two should be separated. Mr. Wachs proposed having wheeled vehicles on the uphill side of the trail and pedestrians on the downhill side of the trail with a rumble strip in between. Mr. Wachs said there is disorder and chaos on the recreation trail, especially during high tourist season. Mr. Wachs said one of the challenges with the situation is people are not reporting the collisions that occur on the recreation trail. Mr. Wachs referenced a petition that was signed by over 250 trail users four years ago regarding the recreation trail asking for the separation as well. Mr. Wachs said Assistant City Manager Hans Uslar walked the trail with him and suggested that he find funding through the Neighborhood Improvement Program. He said while the trail is a legal authorized use, people are getting injured on the trail and those who are disabled are afraid to use it. Mr. Wachs said something 3 Disabled Access Appeals Board Minutes Tuesday, March 29, 2016 has to be done because the current situation is not ethical or logical. Board Member Castaneda asked if Mr. Wachs had looked at any cities worldwide that had addressed the situation. Mr. Wachs said Florence, Italy and Paris, France have addressed the situation with separate bike lanes and the trend is headed towards separating those who walk from wheeled vehicles. Public Comments None. Board Member Discussion In response to Chair Stocker’s question, Mr. Deal said the trail is a shared use trail and the real problem is density. He said a separated path could be created, but that the path should be widened first. Mr. Deal said the basic, fundamental problem is that the trail became very successful but that isn’t an ADA access problem. Chair Stocker asked about the City of Pacific Grove’s Recreation Trail to which Mr. Deal said it is separated but it’s also a wider trail. Chair Stocker questioned whether the issues Mr. Wachs has brought up rise to the required level needed for the Board to determine there is a lack of access. Ms. Salameh said there are no Department of Justice regulations for shared use paths and they are different than sidewalks. She said the Recreation Trail and the City are legally in full compliance at this point. Chair Stocker suggested supporting staff’s recommendation and denying the appeal as it is legally what the Board should do. On a motion made by Board member Castaneda, seconded by Board member Stevens, and carried by the following vote, the Disabled Access Appeals Board denied the appeal of Jason Wachs and upheld the ADA Coordinator’s decision regarding a request for accommodation or barrier removal on the Recreation Trail. AYES: 5 COMMISSIONERS: Stocker, Castaneda, Villalpando, Hawkins, Stevens NOES: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSENT: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None ABSTAIN: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None RECUSED: 0 COMMISSIONERS: None BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS None. ADA COORDINATOR REPORT None. ADJOURNMENT 4 Disabled Access Appeals Board Minutes Tuesday, March 29, 2016 Chair Stocker called the meeting adjourned at 11:31 am. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Recording Secretary David Stocker, Chair 5